


Dear Vision, - a Scarlet Vision fanfic

by visionsofus



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, JUST LET THEM BE HAPPY, because I know all the scarlet vision fans are still hurting from IW and endgame, because Wanda and vision deserved better, this is gonna be angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-02-26 13:29:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/visionsofus/pseuds/visionsofus
Summary: Grief. Loss. Pain.Wanda Maximoff is more than familiar with the emotions. Death has cast its shadow over her life since she lost her parents as a child. Next Death took her brother and Wanda was prepared to let herself go too. But from her despair and emotional turmoil it was Vision who lifted her up and made her life worth living again. For a few years they were happy until death decided he still wasn't satisfied and took Vision too.Wanda embarks on the long road to recovery. It's a road she's walked before and one she doesn't doubt she'll have to walk again. That's just what happens when you live your life as part of the Avengers. It seems that Wanda has finally taken that first step to recovery when she is approached by scientific, genius Shuri. Shuri presents the impossible idea that Wanda has been fantasising over in her waking and sleeping hours since returning from The Snap. The possibility that the love of her life, her soulmate, Vision might be restored.This time Wanda's grief is fuelled by fire. It won't be easy and it certainly won't be without danger but she'll do anything to bring Vision back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! 
> 
> So if you're a ScarletVision fan I have no doubt that you were as destroyed by infinity war and the fact that Vision didn't return in endgame as I was. I'll ignore the injustice that it was to Vision (as well as Paul Bettany who has been there from the beginning of the MCU) and just pray the whatever the Russo brothers were doing in Endgame in not bring him back means that there are big plans for the WandaVision tv show set to air on Disney+. But that won't be released until at least 2020 so in the meantime I'm going to be writing this story in an attempt to fix things for my own peace of mind until the official content is revealed. 
> 
> This is going to have some angst!!! Just so you know!! If you want something with more fluff and to read about my spin of Vision and Wanda's relationship in the two years before Infinity War head over to my other fan fiction - These Stolen Moments. 
> 
> Without further ado, cast your mind back to the end of Endgame.

Wanda sat at the small table looking at the laptop screen in front of her. Her nails were digging into her palms and she bit her lip as she left the Skype call to ring for a few seconds longer. After a couple more moments she unclenched her hands long enough to accept the call.

 

The camera took a moment to adjust to her surroundings and took in the dull lighting above her. Apparently in the five years since The Snap, as people were calling it, the hotels had gradually degraded since there weren't enough people utilising their services. The room that was captured and displayed on the screen of the Skype camera was derelict, the paint peeling from the walls. She was sitting in the cramped kitchenette of the suite she had hired that morning, on an uncomfortable wooden chair. In the middle of the frame she saw herself sitting in said chair, her hair pulled up into what semi-resembled a pony tail, a black cardigan draped over her shoulders, and her face… her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. She almost didn't recognise herself. Though the last five years had lasted no longer than a second between her disintegration and reincarnation, Wanda still felt like she had aged or at least lost a little bit of life that she'd had five years earlier.

 

"Wanda." The voice from her screen said and Wanda was brought back to reality and the short haired women that could be seen on the other side of the Skype call. "I'm Lauren, Clint passed your contact information and a little bit about your situation onto me, I hope this time is okay for you?"

 

Wanda swallowed thickly. "Yes, this is fine."

 

"Well then, I'll start by telling you a little bit about myself just to get you feeling a little more comfortable." Lauren started setting the folder that she had rested on her knees to the side and locking her fingers together atop the pencil skirt she was wearing. "I was lucky some might say, to not be part of those who lost their lives five years ago. Though living for five years without my husband and six-year-old son was the curse that those of us left behind had to deal with. Before The Snap I was a social worker but after losing my family and seeing so many people hurting I made the decision to specialise in grief counselling. There was a surplus of loss and mourning going around but no one was making any progress on the healing part."

 

Wanda was only half listening, her eyes focused on the screen, but her mind seemed like it was behind glass. The room surrounding Lauren felt too bright and happy for a grief counsellor's office, with butterflys and flowers painted behind the apple green couch that the woman was perched on.

 

"I trained for a year and then opened up my own practice to try and help families and individuals cope with the loss of their loved ones, in the process it helped me deal with my own grief." Lauren said crossing one of her legs over the other. "I didn't expect to still be getting work after everyone returned but it is clear that some of us weren't as lucky."

 

Wanda nodded silently.

 

"Do you want to tell me a little bit about yourself?"

 

"I…" Wanda began looking down at her hands and wondering where to begin. "I lost my parents when I was ten years old. I grew up with my twin brother and eventually we were recruited to a research programme where they experimented on us. I ended up gaining these…" Wanda said raising her hands and working her magic through her finger tips, sending little swirls of red from one hand to the other. "Not long after, I ended up joining the Avengers, that same day my twin brother was shot and killed." Wanda swallowed and tried to steer her mind away from Pietro. "I worked and trained with the Avengers for a year before I was pronounced a fugitive by the Secretary of State and forced to go into hiding. For two years I stayed underground, taking a few low-profile missions here and there but nothing that would draw enough attention to get me caught." Wanda's voice wobbled as she realised, she was reaching the part of the story she wasn't ready to tell. "Alongside all the running and the hiding there was one thing that was semi stable in my life. Every couple of months I met up with my…” She paused wondering how on earth she was to describe her relationship with Vision in one word, boyfriend didn’t quite do their connection justice. “… partner, when we could steal some time but there were… complications and he was…" Wanda's face crumpled and she pressed a hand to her mouth to stop the inevitable sobs.

 

"I am so, so sorry for your loss." Lauren said and Wanda was surprised to find she could actually feel the emotion in the woman's voice, the sentiment was there, and it made her want to cry more.

 

"I woke up after The Snap and I was so…so angry and hurt and distraught over what had happened. Everyone else who had been left behind had had five years to address their grief, I only had a few seconds before I was thrown back into the battle." Wanda said once she had regained the ability to talk, her voice still trembled here and there.

 

"Can you tell me about that, about the moment you woke up?"

 

Wanda shuddered a little bit but cast her mind back to the events of two days earlier despite the fact that she had spent hours trying to push it all as far from her mind as possible.

 

"I woke up where I had been left but…. Vision was nowhere to be seen." She began.

 

 

_Wanda gasped for air and spun around, leaping to her feet in the process. Around her there were others who were slowly getting to their feet. The clearing they had been in moments ago was now somehow overgrown with new plants and different logs and the air felt colder than it had moments before._

 

_Except it didn't quite feel like just moments had passed._

 

_"Vision?" Wanda yelled when she realised that he wasn't lying on the ground where she had awoken. The recollection of his grey and lifeless body made her want to throw up, but she forced her fear down._

 

_"I am groot?" asked a quiet voice and she turned to see a small tree making his way over to her._

 

_"What the hell is going on?" Said a voice and Wanda turned towards Bucky Barnes as he picked his gun up from the ground and brushed off the dirt and leaves. Sam Wilson who had also been revived, echoed his sentiments with a few more swear words._

 

_"What happened?" T'Challa said joining their growing entourage._

 

_"Vision!" Wanda yelled again, twisting and turning, hoping to get a view of him somewhere among the people that were rising around them. Hoping to feel his presence somewhere._

 

_"He actually did it." Bucky said scratching his chin. "Thanos wiped us out of existence."_

 

_"Vision." Wanda whispered and felt power surging through her body, her powers flaring "Where is he?”_

 

_"Wanda." Bucky said stepping towards her hesitantly. "Vision died before the snap… if he had turned to dust like the rest of us, he would be here now."_

 

_Wanda's anger flared even though deep down she knew what Bucky was saying was true. Her powers were growing and surging in reaction to the emotional turmoil rolling inside of her. She couldn’t keep her powers down and the energy flowed around her, growing into her hands until she could contain it no longer. She threw her head back yelling in anguish and dropping to her knees. The memory of Vision’s cry as the mind stone was brutally ripped from his forehead tortured her mind. The trees surrounding her were vaporised in seconds._

 

_"I am groot." Said the little tree nervously, taking several steps back._

 

_Wanda felt like her heart was burning, her chest started to tighten until it became hard to breath. It was just like losing Pietro all over again. She put her head into her hands gasping for air. Her mind was out of her control, whirling towards any possible circumstances where what Bucky was saying was wrong. Time had clearly passed since Thanos had snapped them all from existence and Vision’s body was nowhere to be seen. The possibility that he might be alive somehow gave her hope and she grasped the feeling as tightly as she could._

 

_"Wanda." Sam Wilson said quietly, joining them and reaching_ _to put a hand on her shoulder in comfort but her powers sparked at him before it got close enough._

 

_Wanda remained like that for what felt like an hour, slowly rocking back and forth inside a ball of swirling energy. No one else tried to approach her but she could sense the people gathering around her. They were talking, exchanging theories of what on earth was happening and what the next step was. There were so many emotions flying through the air, but she didn't have enough control of her powers to block out the telepathy. Confusion, grief, happiness, relief, all piled one on top of the other adding to her own emotions. It wasn't until all the voices around her fell quiet and a new voice spoke up, did she lift her head from her hands._

 

_"I know you must be confused." The short man said his hands tucked behind his back. Wanda thought he looked a little like a monk in those robes._

 

_"Who are you?" T'Challa asked stepping forward to address the man as Wanda shakily got to her feet. This time when Sam came to help her, she kept her powers in check._

 

_"Thanos succeeded. He snapped half of the population to ashes and in that time five years have gone by."_

 

Five years? _Wanda thought and heard others around her echoing the disbelief. "How is that possible?" She asked, "and how are we back?"_

 

_"The Avengers have succeeded in restoring the stones and used them to reverse what Thanos did." The man explained and made a complex, motion with his hands and bands of light formed around his wrists. "But Thanos is back and the Avengers are seriously short-handed. I'm going to start transporting you to the battle field if you wish to aid in the fight."_

 

_"What are you waiting for then?" Sam said stepping forward and sizing the short man up. "This wizard shit just gets crazier and crazier, so I guess portals ain't that much of a surprise."_

 

_"Prepare yourselves." And with that, a dozen or so portals began to open all around them revealing the decimation beyond._

 

 

 

_“On your left.”_

 

_Wanda was one of the first through and watched the disbelief cross Cap's face when he saw his fellow Avengers back and breathing._

 

_Steve skipped the teary reunion and jumped straight to the chase, turning to face the hordes of monsters setting in on them._

 

_“Avengers…. Assemble!”_

 

_Wanda surged forward with the rest of their forces, she reached out for Vision's mind stone hoping to feel his familiar presence, somewhere, anywhere on the battlefield. Surely… surely, he was here. But all she felt was the mind stone… there was none of her Vision left._

 

All I feel is you.

 

_His last words echoed throughout her head._

 

It's alright

 

_Wanda raised her hands, summoning her red energy to her palms._

 

It’s alright

 

_She could see Thanos from where she was standing, about 300 feet away. Thanos twirled his double-edged sword around him. Directing her power to the ground beneath her Wanda leapt into the air, using it to launch herself across the battle field as the rest of the team jumped into action taking out Thanos' dog like creatures as though it were child’s play._

 

_She cast her mind back to Vision's face as he had uttered his last words._

 

I love you.

 

_Her powers surged again, and she projected herself, landing directly opposite Thanos. He looked at her at once, recognition absent from his eyes._

 

_"You took everything from me." She whispered, her tone deadly._

 

_"I don't even know who you are." Thanos scoffed arrogantly._

 

_And with that Wanda felt her powers overflow with strength she didn't know she had. Heaving two huge clumps of rubble up with her powers she advanced on Thanos. She was going to kill him. Kill him for what he'd done. For what he was trying to do. Kill him for making her destroy her soulmate only to bring him back and brutally murder him._

 

 

 

 

"It's not like it mattered in the end, I didn't get to finish him." Wanda said shuddering and wrapping her arms around herself as she withdrew from the memory.

 

"I'm sorry that must have been difficult to recount." Lauren said jotting down a few notes once Wanda finished telling her tale. "I'm going to be blunt with you Wanda," Lauren said shutting her folder firmly. "What happened was terrible… I won't try and convince you any other way, nor will I tell you that you shouldn't throw your life away for him or anyone else that you’ve lost because their deaths mean you get to live. My job isn't to convince you your life is worth living, that's something only you can do."

 

"So, what exactly are you going to do?" Wanda asked her voice monotone.

 

"My job is to help you come to terms with your loss."

 

"How?" Wanda whispered and swallowed thickly, the lump in her throat burning and begging to be released.

 

"Baby steps. These things, unfortunately, don't happen overnight." Lauren said from the screen. "The stages of grieving aren't as easy and linear as they seem to be made out to be but right now my guess is that you are at the depression stage."

 

Wanda nodded. That seemed about right.

 

"I'm going to give you a task to complete." Lauren said picking up a tablet from the coffee table in front of her. She tapped it a few times and then set it back down again. "I've sent you a worksheet with a series of questions. Before our next session I want you to answer these questions in regard to your loss, it doesn't have to be in regard to your most immediate loss you can write to your brother or your parents. I've found in the past that writing is a good way for people to process their emotions rather than letting it all stew in your head."

 

If you don't want to answer some of the questions that's ok too. Write to your loved ones about a memory of them, tell them about how you are feeling and what's happened since you last saw them. I want you to feel it all, once you acknowledge your pain, we can work on processing that emotion and eventually reconciling with it."

 

"I understand." Wanda whispered and she nodded slowly, a movement that had been one of the sole ways she had been communicating and answering questions of whether she was alright for the last few days.

 

"I'll talk to you again in three days but if you need urgent assistance I am on call. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the meantime." Lauren said shuffling her file and laying the tablet on top of it all. "It might seem like the pain is so strong you feel like you're dying right now but it does get easier. You've survived loss before, I have no doubt you'll be able to do it again."

 

"Thank you." Wanda said, the statement lacking feeling or gratitude.

 

The call was ended, and Wanda was left looking at her own figure. She sat for a moment longer eventually dragging her eyes from the computer screen and raising shakily to her feet to get some water from the fridge. After filling up a grimy glass she returned to the table and pulled up her email address from before the Snap. She didn't have anything to write on, all her belongings had been destroyed at the compound or left in Scotland, so she turned to technology instead. Clint had given her the laptop to contact Lauren earlier that morning. 

 

Wanda sat staring at her inbox for a moment seeing the emails between her and Vision from five, six years before. Her eyes started to sting and to avoid the memories she opened up a new email. She clicked the sender box and Vision's email address that they had communicated via during the two years she had spent on the run, popped up as a default. She slowly moved her mouse and selected it, skipping the subject box and heading to the main body of the email.

 

The cursor blinked waiting for her to put pen to paper, did that even make sense? She stared at it letting the flashing stick put her into a trance as she wondered where to begin. How do you start a letter to the love of your life, knowing that they’ll never ever be able to read it?

 

She sighed and slowly reached out for the keys letting her fingers settle on the letters. She pressed them down one by one, taking her time.

 

_Dear Vision,_


	2. the first letter

To: 2291991514@gmail.com

From: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

Subject: /

 

Dear Vision,

 

You know I can still remember the last email I sent you like I only wrote it yesterday? It was right before we met up in Scotland that last time. I know you'd remember it just as well. I was so excited to see you again, at that point even being apart for three weeks was so difficult, being apart a week, a day, an hour was sometimes too much to deal with. Especially with all the running and the hiding. Knowing that I would get to see you was what kept me going. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And now I'll never get the chance.

 

You're dead by the way. Obviously, you'd know that if you were actually reading this, which you can't be cause… y'know. And we won… there's that too.

 

Oh, and I'm getting counselling. Surprise! You encouraged me to seek help after Pietro but I didn’t listen… well you got what you wanted.

 

It’s been two days since I came back to life, two days (my time not everyone else’s) since you died. Two days since I came back to a life that you are no longer in.

 

For everyone else it’s been five years since The Snap. Sometimes I wish they hadn't brought us back. I know that's selfish of me, Vis. But I can still remember the relief I felt when I died before I had to face the fact that I would have to live in a world where you didn't exist. But here I am, trying to learn to live in a world where you aren't.

 

My grief counsellor suggested I write to you like this and trust me I'm already crying, and we haven't even got to the point of this letter. Lauren, that's my counsellor, sent me a bunch of questions and she says she wants me to reflect on the part of life that I spent with you so I guess I should try and do that? I'm not sure what I'm doing Vis so bear with me.

 

I guess I'll start at the beginning?

 

You and I both know it took a while for us to actually get closer. At the beginning I was on the wrong side remember? I think we were always destined to be something more though, at least I like to think of it like that. Our connection was strong even in the beginning - at least I think it was for you too.

 

The first time I really felt you was when you saved me after we defeated Ultron. I lost a part of myself when Pietro passed and suddenly, I couldn’t control myself. We all know that city pretty much fell because of me and so when I realised I was the last one left I let myself fall. I was ready to die. But you came in at the last second and got me out and for a bit there I almost wished you hadn't because it hurt… it always hurts losing someone like that. You saved me that time in ways that go beyond the physical act and I don't think you ever truly knew that. I wish I'd told you sooner.

 

Living with you and the rest of the team for that year at the compound was probably the best time of my life. You taught me to not be afraid of my powers and I'd hate to see where I would be now without that. Plus, you were really sweet so there was that too. Ah… when you tried to make me Paprikash - I don't think you realised but that made me so happy - even if it definitely didn't taste the way it should have. You told me later that you think you were starting to feel something more for me even before then, you always joked that you fell in love with me first.

 

I'm gonna skip the part where things got complicated after the fight between Cap and Tony because that was way too complicated.

 

I’ll never forget the first time I snuck away from Nat and the rest of the team to spend a night with you. It was only for a night because back then they didn't let me out of their sight for long, but it was worth it. You remember we sat on the roof of a random building in New York - I can't even remember why we were in New York at the time. But I can still remember that moment so clearly.

 

It was a cool night and even though you always talked about how your body was synthetic I still found you warm. You were always my warmth, Vis.

 

We sat on that rooftop all night talking. I think we were both really lonely without each other. I know you were spending so much time at the compound alone and that made me worry about you. I think that was one of the first times that you talked about emotions with me. Sure, you’d asked questions before if it was related to cases or the tv show that Sam was watching but this was the first time that you asked me if I thought that you had the capacity to feel real emotion. “Like love, for example.” You’d said. At the time I said I didn't know. At the time it didn't make sense though with benefit of hindsight I feel like I should have assured you that whatever it was you were feeling, it was ok.

 

I can remember sitting shoulder to shoulder with our feet dangling off the goddamn sky scraper and not feeling afraid at all because I had my powers and I had you. You let me talk for a long time about what it was like being on the run. You let me ramble about how overbearing Steve sometimes got, and even Nat at times would barely let me leave whatever safe house we were staying at and you never made me feel like my thoughts weren't valid. Nat's gone too Vis.

 

I think I fell asleep at some point that night because the next thing I knew I was in my bed at the safe house and you'd left a note behind. I don't think what you wrote was particularly romantic, probably something about where and when we were going to meet next but it was the other side of the card that made me keep it. You'd drawn the constellations from that night as we looked up at the stars even though the light pollution was so bad you pretty much couldn't see anything, at least I couldn't. I don't know where you learnt to be romantic Vis, but it certainly wasn't from me.

 

 I kept that note - it's probably still at our house in Scotland.

 

I think one of my favourite days was back before we were even officially a _thing_ (I know you hated me calling it a _thing_ ), it was probably just under a year after I got broken out of Raft prison. I'd gotten some free space from Nat and the others and had been travelling for two days to meet you and had had a nasty run in with some agents who almost got me. By the time I reached the hotel we had organised to meet at I was running on like two hours of sleep, it was crazy. I think I was nearly delirious by the time I got up to our room and pretty much collapsed into bed as soon as I got there. You didn’t complain even though we both knew that our time together was limited that weekend. You let me catch up on sleep and I remember waking up the following afternoon with sunlight streaming in through the window. I remember having my head resting against your chest and when I put my hand against your cheek to feel your emotions, I just recall how overwhelmingly your feelings were. I mean overwhelming in a good way. I felt so content in that moment. You were my safe place, Vis, especially during those two years.

 

I think it was how strong both our emotions were in that moment and probably the warmth of the sunlight and the fact that for the first time in weeks I really felt at peace, but I sort of just leant up a bit and kissed you?

 

God Vis, I miss you.

 

I don't think I could have dreamt up a more perfect first kiss than that one, 27 stories high in the air on a warm spring day with sunlight pouring in through that window. You were always so soft and sincere and I never felt safer than I did when I was around you.

 

Which reminds me - that goddamn house! Another memory that proves you always knew how to make everything right.

 

You remember, it was the ninth anniversary of my parent’s death… you always knew how difficult that time of year was for me. We'd been travelling around Scotland for about a week and we were finishing up in Edinburgh. I remember trying to go to the hotel that I had booked for us, but you said that you'd already had something organised. And you led me through the streets, and it was so cold but your arm around my shoulder was warm enough that I didn't care. Eventually we came to a beautiful old building that was four stories high and you took me round the back and up the stairs, all the way to the top floor and you pulled out a key and took me inside and it was so beautiful, everything I wanted and I remember being very confused and wanting to ask why you had decided to rent a place out instead of the hotel we had discussed but you just held out this envelope without a word. You always knew how to surprise me Vis, but I don't think anything could have surprised me more than when I found the deed to that flat under my name inside the envelope.

 

I remember hugging you and kissing you and then you held my face in your hands and said something along the lines of 'I know we won't be able to be here all the time, but know that this is your home now and I'm not going anywhere.' and I remember saying something sappy along the lines of: 'you better not go anywhere, because no matter where we are you're my home.' And I kissed you again and then I told you I loved you and it was just the perfect moment Vis. I'm never ever going to forget that moment. But the next morning we still went our separate ways? We always went back to our real lives and sometimes I wonder whether I was afraid of commitment even though you had just bought me a flat. It never really made sense and you’re right we should’ve made promises to each other.

 

I'm crying now. A lot. If I make typos (or typographical errors as you would insist on saying) it's probably because I can't see clearly enough through my tears to see what I'm typing.

 

I miss you so much.

 

But you're gone. Like really gone. I talked to Bruce and I know he tried to bring Nat back from the dead but apparently even the infinity stones can't reverse death's work. It’s only been a couple of days for me Vis but I already have no idea how I am supposed to do this. How am I supposed to live without you?

 

God Vis I'd do anything to get you back. Just to be with you one more time.

 

I'm crying too much now, I need to stop writing otherwise I'm going to start getting incoherent, you know how my accent always gets thick again when I get upset. Not sure how that would convey over text but I'm going to use that as an excuse and not the fact that I just want to go lie down and cry and cry until I fall asleep.

 

I love you so much. Always and forever.

 

Your Wanda.

 

 

|SEND|

 

Wanda wiped the tears out of her eyes and looked down at the send button on the bottom right. It's not like the email would go anywhere and there felt something cathartic about sending the email off into the void. She let the mouse hover for a moment before clicking send. 

 

you message has been sent click here to undo 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this tugged at your heartstrings! I definitely got a little emotional writing this hah :') 
> 
>  
> 
> I like to imagine that the house we see them at in IW is an actual house belonging to them because that wholesome and domestic :)


	3. spam email #1

This message has been identified as **spam** click here to move to inbox

 received 1:32pm

To: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

From: 2291991514@gmail.com

Re: /

 

032 063 097 100 110 097  087

 

 

 

 

 

|reply|         |forward| 


	4. a home cooked meal

Wanda was sitting with her legs crossed on top of a handmade blanket on top of a bed that wasn't her own. She pulled the sleeves of her jumper down over her hands and glanced back up at the screen of the laptop perched on a cushion in front of her.

"I asked you how writing the letter made you feel?" Lauren prompted patiently from where she was on the other side of the screen. They were about forty minutes into Wanda's second counselling session. 

"Sad… happy… angry. I don't really know." Wanda said shrugging. 

Lauren stayed silent and waited for Wanda to continue. It was a tactic Wanda had already noticed about the way the grief counsellor ran her sessions. When Wanda wasn’t being the most forthcoming about her problems Lauren would stay silent and expectantly wait. The pressure of the silence always ended with Wanda filling it even when she didn't really know what to say. 

"I wrote a lot." Wanda began slowly, thinking back to two days earlier when she had written the first email. "It hurt to relive everything and I think I've always tried to forget my grief rather than face it head on." 

"Ok, it's good that you can acknowledge that, it means you're aware of it." Lauren said nodding. "I'm glad that you went and wrote the letter, the more you can face what happened head on, the easier it is going to be to move on with your life." 

Wanda swallowed and looked down at her hands. She wouldn't say it to Lauren but she wasn't so sure she wanted to move on. There was definitely a part of her that was still irrationally hoping and praying that there would be a sign somewhere that Vision could be brought back… but so far there had been nothing. 

"I know that tomorrow is going to be a day of grieving for you and I really want you to address those feelings head on, if you can try not to block it out." Lauren said sympathetically, "emotions are natural and bottling them up is only going to make it harder to break that wall down, remember we're all human." 

Wanda sighed and nodded slowly. Human. She was sure there were some who wouldn't think that such an apt description considering her powers. 

"Until our next session I'm not going to give you anything to do except feel, if you notice yourself shutting down or seeking other, potentially unhealthy coping mechanisms I want you to write a letter or just write it down in general. Getting your thoughts out of your head is the best way to understand them." Lauren told Wanda. "Good luck with everything tomorrow and remember if you need anything I am just a call away."

"Thank you." Wanda said, her voice cracking slightly as the Skype call was ended. She sat like that a moment longer, her body and mind numb as they so often got whenever she talked about Vision now. Wanda almost jumped out of her skin when the door to her left opened suddenly. 

"We've got dinner on the table if you want to come down and eat something." Clint said stepping into the guest room. 

"Is that ok? I don't want to inconvenience you -" Wanda began. 

"Don't think it for a second," Clint said firmly as Wanda turned so she was sitting with her legs off the bed. "You can stay here for as long as you need." 

Wanda swallowed the emotions that came thundering through her mind and nodded gratefully. 

"What's for dinner?" She asked and took Clint's hand as he helped her up and led her from the room. 

"No entirely sure, I cut up a lot of vegetables but not entirely sure what they have become…" He said as they walked down stairs together. "It smells damn good though, so my hopes are high." Wanda made a murmur of agreement, he wasn't wrong, the food did smell great. 

Down in the kitchen the table had been set for six. Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel, Clint and Laura's kids were already sitting ready to eat. Laura brought over a large pot of soup and a plate with some bread on it. 

"This smells amazing." Wanda said as she took a seat opposite Laura and next to Lila. She tried to force some positive emotion into her voice, everything she had been saying lately seemed to come across so monotonous. 

"It looks gross." Nathaniel said quietly. 

"Ahhh no dinner for you then." Clint said ominously.

"I'll just have dessert then!" 

The rest of the family laughed and Wanda smiled weakly alongside them. 

Once the food had been served they picked up conversation and Wanda found herself smiling every now and then. It was a light and happy atmosphere and she was glad that she'd made the decision to leave that run down hotel she'd been in when Clint had called her. She didn’t want to stay here longer than she needed to but given Tony's funeral was the next day, it made sense to travel with Clint's family. The food was wonderful and it felt good to finally have a home cooked meal again. It pained Wanda as she had attempted to think back to the last time that someone had cooked her a meal, her mind naturally going straight to Vision's failed Paprikash all those years earlier. 

Once they were all finished eating Wanda volunteered to do the washing up. She was by the sink when Clint and Laura came to join her, Clint taking a seat at the bench and Laura chucking him a towel and some cutlery to dry up. 

"What's your plan, Wanda?" Clint asked Wanda who was standing with her back to the rest of the kitchen, elbows deep in soapy water. It was simple enough of a question but thinking about the future at the moment held so much weight. 

"I'm not entirely sure." Wanda said slowly as she moved the sponge in circular motions over the inside of the soup pot. "I want to get some of my belongings that I left at home before the snap, if they haven't been stolen and the house broken into." She mused, rinsing the pot out and stacking it on the drying rack. 

"Your house?" Clint asked curiously. 

"Mm…" Wanda said moving onto the soup bowls. "In Scotland." 

"Scotland?" Laura said in surprise, leaning against the kitchen bench. 

"You have a house in Scotland?" Clint asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah… Vis got it for me." Wanda said slowly. 

"You mean you were living with him?" Clint exclaimed. 

"Clint." Laura scolded lightly, "you're starting to sound a little controlling."

"It's ok, it was only for a few weeks when we had time and I managed to get away from the rest of the team for a bit." Wanda said shrugging. 

"Wow." Clint said finishing the cutlery he was drying. "Well if you are looking to get back and get some of your things it'll be quicker if we get you an aircraft. Planes have been a bit unreliable since the snap but I'm sure they'll be getting busy again and passport control will get up and running. I'll talk to Cap in a couple of days and see about getting you a ride there." 

"Thank you." Wanda said taking her hands from the sink and turning to face Laura and Clint. "Really… I don't know what would be happening now if you guys weren't here. Thank you for giving me a place to stay, even if just for a few days. I really appreciate it." �  
"Of course." Laura said stepping forward and enveloping Wanda in a warm hug. Wanda let her shoulders sag and returned the hug. She willed the tears away for as long as she could before they inevitably spilled over. She withdrew and quickly turned to the sink to continue the washing. 

"I'm always gonna be here for you kiddo." Clint said comfortingly from where he was sitting. "You need anything, anything at all don't feel like you're inconveniencing us. We want to be here for you." 

"He's right, Wanda." Laura said in agreement. 

Wanda swallowed past the lump in her throat and pushed out weak thank you that didn’t do justice to the gratitude that she was feeling, but she knew if she tried to express it in any other way she would break down here and now in the kitchen. 

"I'm going to go get the kids ready for bed." Laura said leaving Clint and Wanda alone as Wanda dried her hands of the dish water. 

"There's another thing." Clint said running a hand through his hair and rubbing at his eyes a bit. "I talked to Steve… he said that five years ago after the snap they ugh… they kept Vision's body." 

Wanda froze in the process of drying her left hand. 

"They preserved the body in the hope that there might be a way to restore him but once they heard that Shuri was one of the Decimated they lost hope. Apparently they were keeping him deep in the compound which means his body is still there. If you want to have a burial for him we might have to go through a fair amount of rubble and debris but I'm sure-" 

"I'm sorry." Wanda said clutching a hand to her head, not faking the wave of pain that come over her. "I've got a headache, I'm going to go to bed." 

"Wanda." Clint said watching her leave swiftly from the kitchen. She didn't stop even when he tried to reach for her arm. 

By the time she made it up the stairs and to the guest bedroom the tears had started. She tore the door open and slipped inside closing it swiftly, but softly behind her. Wanda clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the sobs and squeezed her eyes tight, trying her best to calm her breathing before she lost it all. She pressed her head against the cool wood of the door and willed for it all to stop, if only everything would just stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support that this story has received so far!! It's a great way for me to work through my post endgame feelings without getting too upset :) I love reading your comments so if you have any thoughts please let me know below! I have so many plans for this fic and I'm super excited to share it all with you. 
> 
> love you 3000,  
> \-- visionsofus


	5. a slow dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> Quick tip, I'd recommend listening to 'I couldn't be more in love' by the 1975 for this chapter - there's a specific point where I tell you to play it! I listened to the song while I was writing because I think its the best song to slow dance to. 
> 
> If you want to see more songs that remind me of Wanda and Vis that I listen to while I am writing you can follow this link to my playlist > https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6iByx6VGuHvuje9JBAIgjY
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Once Wanda's breathing had calmed significantly, she shakily made her way over to the bed and sat down. It took a considerable amount of self control to not lie down and curl up into a ball but Wanda knew if she did that she would end up crying herself to sleep again.

 

She sat with her hands placed firmly on her thighs and closer her eyes. Wanda banished the remaining tears and let them trade down her checks and drop off her chin. She breathed in and held the breath for eight counts before breathing out for seven. She had never put much faith in breathing exercises but over the last few days it had come in really handy and had done wonders for slowing her heartbeat before she freaked out. Lauren had described said freak outs as 'panic attacks' and advised her of a handful of grounding techniques. Wanda was grateful that they seemed to work well, not sure she trusted her powers enough to have a panic attack in Clint's lovely house.

 

When her heart had slowed to a manageable rate Wanda opened her eyes and relaxed her shoulders.

 

The computer was where she had left it on the bed. Wanda kicked off her boots and quickly got changed into something more comfortable from the small duffle bag that she had brought with her, before slumping into the pillows at the bedhead and pulling the laptop towards her.

 

She opened up her gmail account and hit the 'compose' button. More than anything she wanted to talk to someone right now. That was the same way it had been after Pietro. She had just wanted to talk and talk and talk about her brother until she got it all out of her mind. Wanda was feeling the same way now. She just wanted to talk about Vision, to tell people about the amazing person he had become, how he had really becoming a person. She knew that she understood Vision in a way that no one else did or could and that made it somewhat difficult to explain. So she turned to the one person who did know and did understand, even if the words would never actually be read.

 

 

To: 2291991514@gmail.com

From: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

Subject: it's me again

 

Dear Vis,

 

Things are getting overwhelming here again so I'm writing to you. It helps me stay grounded I guess? I don't know if it really helps me in the long run but for now it makes me feel a little bit better.

 

I'm staying with Clint and his family at the moment. They're very nice but it's kind of strange to be a part of this normal family when the extraordinary family I've had for the last three years - eight years? - has been you and Steve and Nat and Sam and everyone else.

 

Tony's funeral is tomorrow. It's going to be real difficult for everyone. Speaking of funerals… Clint said they have your body somewhere at the compound, underneath all that rubble… who knows you might have been destroyed in the fight. Ugh I shouldn't talk about this right now, that's what made me get so upset in the first place. A funeral would be too real Vis, too damn real and I'm not ready.

 

I'm going to write about something else ok?

 

You remember our first official mission together right? It was that super fancy party at that celebrity's mansion in the Hamptons? I can't even remember her name. We were going into infiltrate an illegal arms deal, pretend to want to get in on the deal and then tell the rest of the team where the meeting and handover was supposed to take place. Out of all the missions I remember, I think that was my favourite.

 

 

 

Wanda paused typing for a moment and thought back to their first mission all those years ago. She had been finally gaining real control over her powers and unlocking new abilities as she delved further into the source inside her. The mission itself had been simple enough, be charming, get their attention, say you want in and organise a meeting - that's all. Things had gotten a little complicated but the lead up had been fun.

 

 

 

_"I don't really feel that comfortable in this." Wanda said twisting her neck around to look in the mirror._

 

_"Not yet!" Nat scolded flicking Wanda's forehead lightly. Nat reached down and picked up another bobby pin from the dresser and slipped it through Wanda's hair, pinning up the final strand._

 

_"Is this really necessary?"_  
 

_"You're going to the Hamptons, of course it's necessary." Nat said as she held up two different pairs of earrings for reference before handing Wanda a set of dangly star ones with red gems set in the centre. "This stuff usually isn’t comfortable and it_ is _for work but when else are you going to have the chance to dress up like this."_

 

_"I guess you're right." Wanda said sighing, wishing that Nat would let her look around at the mirror already. Being in the tight red dress was making her nervous. "Y'know when Steve said he had a mission for me I wasn't exactly expecting this."_

 

_"Work on your accent." Natasha said tugging at a strand of hair and curling it around her curling iron before letting it fall to sit against Wanda's collarbone._

 

_"I know." Wanda said trying not to get grumpy. "I don't try at home but I always make sure to be super American when I go out." She said putting on a show of making the American accent overly obvious._

 

_"I know." Nat said setting the curling iron down. "Alright finishing touch." She lifted up a necklace not dissimilar to the necklace Wanda often wore. Nat did it up and set the deep red pendant that was the focus of the piece to rest against Wanda's chest. "I know you have your powers but if you find that you need a distraction or to disappear, throw this at the ground."_

 

_"Alright." Wanda said turning the pendant over in her hand._

 

_"Don't squeeze it too tight, you'll set it off." Wanda let the stone go quickly. "We'll leave in five, get whatever else you need for the flight and meet at the hanger." Nat said as she collected her supplies and left Wanda's room._

 

_Wanda sighed and let her shoulders slump, she'd been so tense and distracted she hadn't realised that a dull headache was starting to pound behind her eyes. She walked to her bedside table and retrieved painkillers and a glass of water. She didn't want to go into her first mission with a migraine._

 

_Setting the glass down Wanda turned towards the mirror and gave herself a once over._

 

_The dress was definitely working for its keep. It was a deep colour that somehow seemed to match the exact shade of red that her powers produced. The neckline was deep, accented by the pendant hanging on its chain. The dress swept gracefully over her hips towards the floor where a slit made its way up her thigh to a point she would usually be uncomfortable with but in that moment felt somewhat empowering. Nat was right. When else would she get the chance to wear something like this again?_

 

_Wanda sat down to get her golds heels on, they were platform heels which would at least make it easier if push came to shove and a fight broke out. She wound the shoe straps three times around each leg and slipped two sheathed knives next to her calf. It wasn't very likely she'd need to use them what with her powers, but there was no such thing as being too safe, and it did feel kind of badass to have them with her._

 

_Wanda turned to look in the mirror once again, admiring Nat's work of her hair when the wall behind her shimmered and Vision phased through._

 

_"Oh my god!" Wanda exclaimed. "Vis seriously, I am never going to get used to that."_

 

_Vision didn’t say anything for a moment. "I… I'm sorry, it slipped my mind."_

 

_"Using the door slipped your mind?"_

 

_"Hmm? Oh yes." Vision said tilting his head slightly. "You look very pretty."_

 

_"Thank you." Wanda said smiling, sometimes Vision's upfront and blunt comments could be comforting. "You don't look too bad yourself."_

 

_"Thank you, Wanda." Vision said smiling slightly. Wanda wasn't lying. Vision had been experimenting with his phasing and now had the ability to change his complexion and adapt other elements of his appearance with the goal to eventually be able to pass for human, physically at least. At present, he had adapted his colours so that there was more gold and less red and he was wearing a pristine white suit with a red tie that matched her dress perfectly._

 

_"You remember our aliases for tonight?" She asked, knowing he did but checking nevertheless._

 

_"Of course. I am Victor Walkins and you are my partner, Emilia Williams."_

 

_"Right," Wanda continued, "my name is Emilia, and I'm an artist currently studying at RISD, with particular interest in body paint and anatomy related artworks."_

 

_"Which is what everyone will think I am wearing for tonight." Vision said tapping the back of his hand and squinting in concentration as gold and red leaves flowed around the back of his hand, down his wrist and up under the sleeve of his jacket._

 

_"Exactly." Wanda said smiling, she was starting to feel the excitement of the mission setting in. It was her first time going on a mission with Vision and she was excited to show Steve how well they worked together._

 

_"Shall we? The others are waiting to escort us."_

 

_"Of course." Wanda said jokingly formal and taking the arm that Vision had offered to her as they left her bedroom._

 

 

 

_"You know what to do." Steve said squeezing Wanda's shoulder as they pulled up to the enormous mansion that the event was to take place at. "Don't take risks, just get us the information we need. But if things go south you get yourself our of there ok?"_

 

_"We know." Wanda said looking to Vision who was in the back seat._

 

_"Vis?" Steve said nodding his head to Wanda's door._

 

_"Oh right." Vision said opening his door and swiftly getting out._

 

_"You know I am perfectly capable of getting out of the car by myself." Wanda said rolling her eyes._

 

_"I do." Steve said, pulling his dark sunglasses down and looking out the window to the security guards lining the grand driveway and the guests gathered at the steps leading up to the mansion. "But the more they underestimate you, the better, don’t give anyone any reason to suspect anything - then strike them when they are least expecting it."_

 

_"I thought this was purely an information mission, Cap?" Wanda said as Vision reached her door and opened it, extending a hand for her to take._

 

_"Of course it is, but if you were to knock out a couple of these posh bastards on your way out I wouldn’t blame you."_

 

_Wanda smiled sweetly. "I have no idea what you are talking about." She said in her most perfect American impression before she took Vision's hand and got out of the car._

 

_"Be careful you two, and listen to your comms!" Steve reminded tapping his ear._

 

_"God I feel like I just got dropped off at a high school dance or something." Wanda grumbled and took Vision's arm as they approached the front of the house, if such a word could even begin to describe the incredibly huge structure before them._

 

 

 

_Thankfully they made it in without any bumps. Emilia Williams and Victor Walkin were on the guest list as Nat had assured and so they made it safely into the venue without so much as a second glance. Luckily for Vision, people were dressed up so extravagantly he pretty much fit right in._

 

_For about ten minutes they milled around the drinks table, Wanda leading small talk about her 'artwork' on Vision._

 

_"Target acquired." Vision said quietly once an elderly couple had finally left them alone. Wanda turned her head slowly, trying to locate the man they were focusing on for the night. "2 o'clock." Vis said squeezing Wanda's arm a little._

 

_"Spotted." She whispered._

 

_"Remember, strike up conversation with him, maybe complement the designer of his suit and then mention the dreadful explosions that happened in Louisiana last weekend, talk about how you wish that you had some of your own to protect yourself with if the time came." Natasha said over the comms._

 

_"I know." Wanda whispered, keeping one arm on Vision and the other on the gold clutch she kept by her side._

 

_"He is dancing now." Vision said. "It will be difficult to interact at the moment."_

 

_"Then we might as well dance too." Wanda said directing Vision to the dance floor._

 

_"Wanda," he protested slightly. "I do not think I have the right abilities for this particular mode of expression."_

 

_"It's fine, just sway with me to the music." Wanda assured him as a slow song began to play._ (Queue song!)

 

_Together, she and Vision joined the other couples on the ballroom floor. Wanda tried not to feel too overwhelmed by the immense displays of wealth and beauty around her and instead focused on the steadiness of Vision underneath her hands. She stretched her arms up to rest around his neck after guiding his arms to her waist._

 

_"Relax." She said quietly._

 

_"I know." Vision said his gaze darting to follow their target in the crowd and then back to her._

 

_"Let's start making our way over to him, make it look like its accidental though." She said as they started swaying, taking small steps to the stout man with the goatee about 10 feet away._

 

_At some point Wanda ended up getting lost in the song more than she meant to. Vision had settled nicely into the dancing compared to the awkward movements they had started with. One of his hands had made it's way to the small of her back and the other was still resting at her hip, it was almost like he was embracing her. Wanda felt her heart beat spike a little and tried to stay as grounded in the mission as possible. But the song was so perfect to slow dance to. There was an overwhelming desire to user her powers to read Vision's thoughts right now, out of curiosity and see if there was anything more than the mission on his mind. But Wanda knew it was futile, and somewhat invasive, so she restrained herself._

 

_"Wanda." Vision whispered, his eyes meeting hers. "He's leaving the dance floor and heading for that balcony. We should follow."_

 

_"Not yet." Wanda said pulling Vision closer. "it's going to look suspicious if we leave in the middle of the song and follow him."_

 

_"But we'll loose him." Vision said his eyes darting over to the balcony._

 

_"No you won't." Sam's voice said over the comms. "Vis there's a mini red wing in your jacket pocket, get it and press the red button on the top and I'll get it over to him so we can track his movements and get audio."_

 

_"Thanks Sam." Wanda said and she slipped one of her arms from around Vision's neck down to his coat and into the inside pocket. She found the small mechanical hang glider and as Sam had instructed pressed the small button on its head._

 

_"There." She whispered. Letting the little creature go and fly from her hand, zipping unnoticeably through the crowd and out the French doors, following their target._

 

_"I suppose we can finish our dance then?" Vision asked._

 

_"I supposed we can." Wanda said back and smiled as Vision pulled her the tiniest bit closer so  that their heads were almost touching._

 

 

 

You and I both know how well that mission ended up going but I think we had fun while it lasted and it's still an important memory for me. Our first mission together and we got to slow dance, I'd say that’s pretty special.

 

This helped a lot believe it or not. I always thought that thinking back to these moments would just be a form of torture but hey maybe Lauren really does have a point because it seems to be doing something right.

 

I'm going to go to sleep now. Hopefully I won't cry. Maybe I'll listen to that song we danced to again.

 

I'll write again soon, no doubt.

 

Love,

Wanda

 

 

|send|

 

 

Wanda sat back to admire her work. At some point she had stopped thinking about what she had been typing and had just relived the memory, her fingers dancing over the keys. Just like she had a few days ago she hit the send button at the end of the email and breathed a sigh of relief as her creation was sent off into the web. She pressed her knuckles into her eyes and took a few deep breaths, counting them each time and willing her heart to stay at a normal rate. Returning to reality sucked.

Wanda shut the laptop down and pushed it to the edge of the bed before getting comfortable under the covers. It wasn't late by any standard but as each day was more emotionally exhausting than the last, she was eager to get some more rest. For the first night since being brought back into this world, Wanda didn’t cry herself to sleep.   

 

 

you message has been sent click here to undo 

 

 


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To: wmaximoff7@gmail.com.  

From: 2291991514@gmail.com

Re: it's me again

 

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	7. two lilies and a pyre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song - Don't Forget About Me by CLOVES 
> 
> Do you want me to keep linking songs in with the chapters? Not sure about the readers but I love listening to music while I read and write :) 
> 
> this one is sure to tug at your heartstrings cause it sure hurt me to write it. I wanted to see Wanda's interaction with some characters that we haven't seen her talk to yet in the films so here's a little spin on that. 
> 
> exciting things to come in the next few chapters (the next one is v soft but the ones after that get v exciting!). I hope you all continue to enjoy!

Wanda stood at the shore of the lake watching the funeral pyre disappear into the distance. She wasn't sure what was making her eyes hurt, whether it was from the crying or the tiredness. She hadn't exactly slept well last night. Apparently being killed and then reborn had triggered some old memories and she had started having horrible night terrors again, ones she hadn't had in years. But despite her stinging eyes and the chill outside, Wanda stayed by the lake a while after everyone had left.

 

The rest of the procession had gone inside but she had wanted to take a moment to be away from the others and work through her emotions for a moment. Her relationship with Tony Stark hadn't exactly been close and for a long time she and Pietro had despised him. Her year living in the compound had made her change her opinion and she had come to admire Tony, though refused to forget the havoc his weapons had once wreaked on her home. Things had gotten difficult with the Sokovia Accords and then being on the run for two years meant she hadn't really seen Tony in that time. In those two years he had consistently covered for her and Vision and ensured that no one knew that an Avenger was meeting up in secret with a none fugitive. Her feelings towards him were complicated for sure but she would always be in debt to his sacrifice and what he had done for everyone who had lost their lives in the Snap. If anything, it was Vision who would have felt this loss more strongly. Jarvis had been a huge part of his foundation and the attachment and loyalty that Vis had to Stark had always been easy to see.

 

Wanda watching the pyre bobbing along the surface of the lake in the distance and thought of everything else she and the others had lost. Of course, Vision's death was constantly in the fore front of her mind but there was also Natasha. Natasha had cared for her as though Wanda were her sister in her years since joining the Avengers. Nat had taught Wanda everything she knew now about hand to hand combat but more than that she had shown her how to come back from being what some might call, a villain. Wanda had spent so long torturing herself with the idea that she was broken and more than anyone, it was Nat who had shown her how to put herself back together.

 

Wanda thought of this as she stood watching the glass like surface of the lake next to the Stark's cabin.

 

As she thought of Natasha and all Wanda was grateful to her for, she knelt to the surface of the lake and let one of the two lilies she was carrying go forth over the water. Teary eyed she summoned that familiar energy to her hands and used it to give the flower a boost out into the lake.

 

Next, she thought of Vision. Her heart clenched and before she knew it the tears were tracing down her face. She had truly lost everything. Her mother, her father, her brother, her mentor and finally the man she loved. Not only had she had to murder Vision, but she'd had to watch him be brought back only to be killed a second time. Tragedy seemed to follow wherever Wanda Maximoff went.

 

"I'm sorry." She whispered, pressing her lips to the second lily before letting it float out into the water, sending a pulse of powers to catch it up to the first flower.

 

"Wanda." Clint said quietly from behind her and she felt a comforting arm come around her shoulders.

 

"Hey." She murmured quietly keeping her eyes on the flowers.

 

"Everything is going to be ok eventually." He assured.

 

"Eventually…" Wanda said, wondering how long a period of time that meant, one month? Two months? Two years? "I just have to keep telling myself that none of it was in vain."

 

"I understand how you feel." Clint said drawing away and shoving his hands into his jean pockets, looking out to the pyre and the two flowers following it out. "I just wish there was some way to tell her that we won."

 

Wanda nodded silent for a moment. "She knows, they both do."

 

Wanda and Clint remained there like that for minutes longer and she was glad for the solidarity that he provided, a reminder that she wasn't alone in all of this.

 

 

 

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. The private funeral at the cabin had been just the Avengers in attendance, and it became startlingly real to Wanda that these people were all she had left. The same went for most of them. Surrounding her were people who had lost family and friends, some came from different times, different planets, different galaxies and they kept getting up again and again. It inspired her, if only a little, on such a depressing day.

 

Following the private funeral there were memorials being held all across the country, the one in New York was expected to be the biggest. It was the one that Steve, Bruce, Thor and Clint were going to along with Pepper and her daughter.

 

Before Steve left, he came over to Wanda and gave her a warm hug.

 

"Hey kid." He said rubbing her back comfortingly.

 

"I'm not a kid." She said fondly.

 

"Eh you are to me." Steve said shrugging as he drew back. "Everything's going to be ok."

 

"You're not the first person to say that to me today." Wanda said smiling sorrowfully.

 

"Trust me." Steve said putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. "Tomorrow, Banner and I and anyone else who has spare hands are going to start cleaning up the compound. We thought it'd be better to get our minds on something even if it's just physical labour."

 

"I'll be there." Wanda assured him.

 

"Thank you, we could use the help." Steve said.

 

"You wouldn’t even make a dent in that carnage without my help." Wanda said attempting to joke but she just couldn't find it in herself to put on a joking tone.

 

"Exactly what I was thinking," Steve said smiling warmly but it looked slightly out of place compared to the red tinge around his eyes. "Don't tell Bruce I said that though, he'd get offended."

 

"My lips are sealed." Wanda said miming zipping her lips closed.

 

"I'll see you tomorrow then? We'll pick you up in the craft on the way there."

 

"Ok, good luck with everything else tonight. Stay strong." Wanda said squeezing Steve's arm in solidarity and he laid a hand on hers.

 

"Always am." Steve assured and with that he joined Pepper, Morgan and the remaining four original Avengers.

 

After watching the aircraft leave, the rest of the group slowly began to disperse, saying farewells and getting into cars or space ships. Wanda stuck with Sam and Bucky as she watched people leave, she had no doubt that they would all see each other again at some point. Wanda watched the Wakandans who were preparing to leave and saying their goodbyes. She watched as Shuri, the Wakandan Princess made to walk towards her, Sam and Bucky but was caught short by a curt word from her brother. Wanda was too far away to hear the argument that ensued but it seemed T'Challa ended up winning and so they boarded their own aircraft and left. Wanda thought it curious considering she'd barely had any interaction with either of them but for all she knew their conversing could have been directed at Bucky, which would've made more sense considering he had spent two years living on their land. But she didn't let it take up any more space in her mind and instead turned her mind towards saying good bye to the rest of the team.

 

She said goodbye to Scott and Hope and the Pym's, thanking Hank for his work (without it they wouldn't still be here). The mood was still sombre, but Scott still found it in him to make a hilariously unfunny joke about her witchy powers - Wanda _almost_ laughed.

 

Peter Parker and his aunt were the next to leave.

 

"I don't think we were every officially introduced." Wanda said once she made her way round to them.

 

"May." Peter's aunt said holding her hand out and shaking Wanda's warmly. "Thank you."

 

"What for?" Wanda asked, confused.

 

"For doing what you do." May replied, "without you guys, the world would be a very different place."

 

Wanda tried not to wonder about what that place would be like. She wanted to think that they had made the world a better place, but Vision's words had hung with her ever since he had first brought up the concept that the rise in supervillains was in correlation with the rise of superheroes. Wanda pushed the thought from her mind.

 

"Well," Wanda said shrugging sadly, "someone has to. You've got a good nephew, he's very talented."

 

“I sure do.”

 

"Thanks." Peter said sniffing and swallowing. "You were really cool out there, Ma'am."

 

"Please, I'm like two years older than you so call me Wanda." Wanda replied quickly. "And you weren't so bad yourself."

 

Peter shrugged, "it's what we do… I guess."

 

"You're going to be ok Peter." Wanda assured him. "I know what you're going through is terrible, trust me I really do, but this isn't the end for him, it's not the end for any of us. As long as the people that Tony met and helped and saved, the people that he loved, as long as they keep him in mind, he'll never leave us. He'll always be here." Wanda said softly and touched the lapel of Peter's suit gently.

 

"I know." Peter said his voice cracking. "But that won't stop me missing him." Tears began to trace down his face again and he blinked furiously trying to get it to stop.

 

"I know." Wanda said, feeling his pain as she pulled him into a hug.

 

 "Chin up." She hugged him for a moment longer and then pulled back and smiled at May.  May put an arm around Peter's shoulder as he buried his head in one hand again. She mouthed 'thank you' to Wanda and led Peter away to their car waiting in the driveway.

 

Wanda wasn't entirely sure why she had done that. Perhaps it was because she had seen a part of herself in Peter. The look on his face reminded her of how she had felt after losing Pietro. Back then she'd really needed someone to pick her back up and tell her everything was going to be ok - luckily the rest of the team had been there for her.

 

"That was a good thing you said." Sam said his tone coloured with surprise once Wanda returned to him and Bucky.

 

Wanda shrugged and didn't reply. They were all silent for a moment as cars pulled out of the driveway and ships soared into the sky.

 

"So, what are your plans for now?" Sam said and Wanda looked up from the ground she had been staring at. Carol Danvers was approaching them.

 

"I'll be on earth for a little longer. There's an old friend I should pay a visit to." Carol said glancing at Nick Fury who had followed her over.

 

"You better not be talking about me." He said and Wanda couldn't be sure if he was joking.

 

"Of course not, we aren't friends Fury jeez." Carol said and again, Wanda wasn't entirely sure she was joking.

 

"My mistake." Fury said folding his arms. Carol smiled and mirrored his stance mockingly.

 

"What are your plans for now?" She asked, directing the question to the three of them, who had just watched the most bizarre conversation and weren't entirely sure what to make of the interaction.

 

"Well I'm helping out with restoring the Avengers and the compound, Bucky?" Sam said turned towards Barnes.

 

"I'll be hanging around too it seems, retirement didn't really suit me, though Wakanda was lovely." Bucky said shrugging.

 

"Wanda, right?" Carol said turning to her. "Impressive stuff you were doing out there, you sure made Thanos panic."

 

"I would have loved to have made him more than panic." Wanda said shrugging and shaking the hand that Carol extended.

 

"If you have time, I'd love to hear about how you got your powers, Nick told me that yours came from an infinity stone too." Carol said somewhat eager.

 

"That would be great, most people round here get their powers from suits," Wanda said looking sideways at Sam, "or chemical mistakes, but not ours."

 

"Hey, I am more than just a suit." Sam said turning indignantly to Wanda.

 

"Sure thing birdy." She joked and smiled at the exaggerated face of outrage that Sam made.

 

"I like you." Carol said appreciatively, "let me know when you have some time and we can have a chat."

 

"Alright." Wanda said smiling back.

 

"Alright Fury, Maria said the table is set and if we aren't there in half an hour then _we_ will become the meal." Carol said clapping Nick Fury on the shoulder.

 

"Don't want to keep her waiting do we." Nick said and grudgingly followed Carol towards the last aircraft that was left.

 

"What are your plans for the rest of the evening?" Sam asked his two companions, by now they were among the last few left.

 

"I'm going back with Clint's family, sleeping there tonight and then I'll see you both at the compound tomorrow I guess." Wanda said shrugging and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as the breeze around them picked up a little. "You?"

 

"I suppose we'll head off too then." Bucky said glancing at the car they had come in with Steve. "We’re staying at one of the old safe houses you guys used over the last two years.”

 

"I guess I'll be seeing you bright and early then?" Wanda joked but the emotion didn't reach her voice.

 

"How are you doing." Sam blurted out and Wanda got the feeling he'd been meaning to ask for a while.

 

"I'm getting by." She said shrugging. "It's going to take time."

 

"Is there anything you need, anything we can do to help?" Sam offered.

 

"Time." Wanda said solemnly as she followed the two over to their car. "Looks like it’s the only thing that's going to work."

 

They stood quietly for a moment and Wanda realised that Sam was blinking rapidly. "You need anything you tell me ok." He said wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

 

"I will." Wanda said softly, returning the hug. So much hugging today, it was somewhat exhausting but at the same time very comforting.

 

"See you tomorrow, Wanda." Said Bucky as he got into the passenger seat and Sam withdrew from the hug.

 

Wanda smiled and nodded. She stood at the end of the driveway, watching as the car reversed and then turned around, speeding off towards the main road.

 

"Are you ready to go, love?" Laura said coming to Wanda's side.

 

"Yes, sorry if I kept you waiting." Wanda said realising that she might have been inconveniencing them.

 

"Not at all, this was a very important day." Laura said putting an arm around Wanda's shoulder in comfort. "We're all going to be ok." She said, seemingly for both of their benefit.

 

"I know." Wanda said softly.


	8. memories of warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Miss You - Adele 
> 
> Enjoy!

Everything around Wanda felt warm. She was swaddled up in a thick blanket, settled comfortably into the pillows of the bed in the guest room. She was wearing a large grey hoodie that was two sizes larger that it needed to be that she’d purchased from Target a few days earlier when she had been in desperate need of clean clothes. The homemade quilt she had draped over herself was cosy   and sitting on her bedside table was a steaming cup of tea. Despite all of this warmth she felt none of it.

 

Wanda was sitting with her back pressed against the bed head and staring outside the small window opposite the twin bed. The sun had well and truly set, and from this angle she could see faint stars dotting the sky. The moon was bright enough that the trees stood out against the dark sky. Despite her mind taking in all of these things around her, she still felt unbearably numb. The numbness had really set in as soon as she had been left alone to her thoughts. There had been so much _emotion_ and _feeling_ today that it seemed her mind had given up and was just trying to block it out.

 

So Wanda didn’t feel the warmth. It felt like there was something missing constantly and without that something, or someone, it was cold. Almost like there was a constant chill thrumming through her body. Now that Vision was gone, she found herself missing the warmth he had provided. It didn't really make sense; Vision's body was synthetic… he couldn’t  _be_ warm.

 

But he had been. She recalled many a night when she had fallen asleep against Vision, his steady presence keeping her grounded even when the night terrors threatened her sleeping hours. Even when they did manage to break through, and she woke in a panic he had always been there to immediately calm her down. That was something Wanda had really needed the last few nights, as horrifying nightmares had plagued her dreaming hours with images of the battle field, Pietro, her parents, Natasha and of course… Vision.

 

Wanda was afraid to think about the matter further, wondering whether it would somehow make her mind more susceptible to the nightmares, tonight of all nights. Instead she turned to the computer at the end of the bed and pulled it towards her. Her email was still open from the previous day and for a moment her heart thudded violently as it always did when she refreshed the email. No new email came through and she let her heart fall back down, wishing she could stop getting her hopes up. _He's not going to reply… He's never going to reply._

 

She shoved aside her grief violently - despite her counsellor's reminder that she should face her emotions head on, that echoed throughout her head.

 

Instead Wanda pulled up a new blank email and typed in Vision's email. Yet again she put her fingers to the keys and let them do the talking as she poured her thoughts out onto the screen.

 

 

To: 2291991514@gmail.com 

From: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

Subject: it’s cold without you

 

Dear Vision,

 

The funeral was today…

 

I let a lily out onto the water of the lake near the Stark's house for you. I sent one out for Nat as well. It's not much, I'm sorry.

 

I'm not feeling good Vis. I put on a brave face today and it was so exhausting when every other minute I wanted to sit down and cry. I'm not getting much rest either. It's difficult now… I wonder how I ever managed to sleep well. I'm scared the nightmares are going to come for me again tonight, which is why I'm here, writing to you instead.

 

I can remember the first time you stayed with me after I woke up from a nightmare. I remember back then it made you curious, there was a part of you that just couldn't understand and marvelled at the way that the human brain could create such things out of the subconscious. See I'm even starting to sound like you, that’s how often you talked about it!

 

 

 

 

_Wanda launched herself up from the pillows with a yell. She threw her arms up before her face to protect herself from whatever horror had been approaching her in the dream, not realising she was back in reality. In her distress her powers exploded uncontrollably from her palms and the shelves above her desk shuddered and books and other objects flew from them down to the ground with a crash. A glass vase holding flowers that sat atop her bedside table shattered, sending shards to the floor. When Wanda came to terms with her surroundings and realised she was in her room at the compound she clutched a hand over her mouth._

 

_Her powers still scared her. Her emotions made it so much harder to control them._

 

_Wanda yelped again when Vision phased in through the wall to her left._

 

_"Are you alright." He asked softly._

 

_"Yes," She said taking her hand away from her mouth and running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry it was just a nightmare."_

 

_"Again?" Vision asked._

 

_"Yes, Vis." Wanda said gritting her teeth. "Sorry if it is annoying, trust me it would be better for me too if I didn't have them."_

 

 _"You mistake me." Vision said hastily. "I did not mean that your cries annoyed me, it is more they scared me. I thought the compound had been infiltrated."_  
  
Wanda glanced up at him, barely able to see the shadow of his face in the dark.

 

_"I was worried something bad had happened to you." Vision said before continuing, "And I have to admit, it does interest me."_

 

_Wanda smiled ruefully, his curiosity was endearing even if it was in regard to her tortured dreams._

 

 _"I find it fascinating the way your subconscious produces dreams, good ones or ones that it can use against you." Vision mused and then he seemed to look intently at her, though Wanda couldn't be sure in the dark. "But you must remember them for what they are…_ dreams _, not reality."_  
  
Wanda glanced at the carnage around the room that had been caused by her outburst. He was right.

 

_"You make it sound easy." Wanda said, her accent thick with sleepiness._

 

_"Well I suppose I wouldn’t know. After all, I do not require the use of my ventrolateral preoptic nucleus."_

 

_"I'm not even going to ask." Wanda snickered, rubbing at her eyes._

 

_"If you are indeed alright, I will leave now." Vision said turning from Wanda and phasing out through the wall before she could say another word._

 

_"Good night." She said to the now empty room._

 

 

 

_Wanda collapsed from exhaustion onto her double bed. That mission had been testing and she knew there was a big one coming up next week that they were supposed to be preparing for. She was tired and done with it and just wanted to have a bit of time for herself outside of the training and working. She knew once she woke up in the morning, she would be ready to get back into everything and it was just the tiredness making her think that way. Wanda had intended to watch some television but had ended up falling asleep almost instantly once she had settled into the comfort of her bed._

 

_Down the corridor from Wanda's room, Vision went about collecting the spare first aid kit from the kitchen that Steve had asked for, the one downstairs that they were using to bandage Sam's arm which had taken a nasty cut, had run out of gauze._

 

 _Vision had just picked up the first aid kit when he heard Wanda making distressed noises from her bedroom. Without thinking he down the corridor, passing through the wall and appearing at her side. She was whipping her head back and forth, her eyes scrunched closed and her hands clenched into fists. She whimpered and flinched at something that was happening in her subconscious. It wasn't the first time that Vision had seen her having nightmares, but it made him feel…. Or at least_ experience _that which resembled what he assumed was sadness or sorrow. Even in what would be the peace of sleep Wanda Maximoff was tortured by her own mind._

 

_"Wanda." Vision whispered sitting down next to her and reaching and taking one of her hands into his own. As he did, she jumped awake and Vision flinched uncontrollably at the spark of fear that travelled through him from her hand._

 

_"Vis?" She said sitting up and turning around frantically before she saw him next to her and relaxed a little._

 

_"What was that?" Vision asked turning Wanda's hand over in his palm._

 

_"What? I was just having another nightmare." Wanda said pushing her hair out of her face. "That was a really bad one." She said, still breathing heavily. Vision had the inkling that the nightmares embarrassed her, and that was even before she had asked him to keep them a secret from the rest of the team._

 

 _"I know." Vision said still studying her palm. "But something else happened, I_ felt _your fear."_

 

_"Hmm." Wanda said looking down at their hands. "I guess it has something to do with my telepathy, I suppose it would make sense that I can pass my emotions onto others in the same way I can manipulate theirs."_

 

_"Fascinating." Vision said turning her hand over._

 

_"Yes very." Wanda grumbled and drew her hand away, sighing deeply, "I really wanted to get some rest… now I'm never going to be able to sleep."_

 

_"Would it help if I made you some tea?" Vision offered, his promise to bring the first aid kit down to Steve long forgotten._

 

_"No, it's ok." Wanda said shaking her head and moving further up the bed and slipping properly under the covers._

 

_"If you need anything, I'll just be downstairs." Vision assured her as he rose from the bed and slowly made his way to the door. His reluctance to leave her alone was clear as he made to use the door rather than just phasing through the wall as he so often did._

 

_Vision paused by the door. "Or I could stay if you need."_

 

_At the same time Wanda blurted, "Wait."_

 

_"Yes?" Vision said turning slightly._

 

_"Can you stay?" Wanda asked. "Just sit with me until I go back to sleep."_

 

_"Of course." Vision said and he smiled warmly at Wanda, returning to where he had been sitting. He pressed his back against the headboard of the bed, keeping a fair amount of distance between himself and Wanda._

 

_He watched as her chest rose and fell and her eyes flickered closed. Vision adjusted himself slightly so that his legs were extended over the top of the bed covers and he could sit more comfortably next to the sleeping Wanda._

 

_Within minutes it seemed Wanda had slipped back into her dream again. She started to twist in the bed, her breathing quickening. Vision watched, wondering whether he should wake her or see if the dream subsided. When it showed no sign of stopping, he reached for Wanda's right hand which was resting near his leg. Her hand was warm and in her slumber,  she squeezed his subconsciously._

 

_After another minute she started to still, her breathing returning to a normal level again. Vision kept his hand on Wanda's and watched as she shifted about in bed, trying to get comfortable. Wanda turned into him and for a moment Vision wondered whether she was indeed awake again as she adjusted her head slightly and let it rest against his stomach. He stayed perfectly still, hyperaware of how she was placed next to him._

  

_Steve, growing impatient with the time Vision was taking to bring the long forgotten medical supplies down to the infirmary, came upstairs to investigate. Vision heard him thudding around in the kitchen and then walking down the hall to, Vision assumed, check on Wanda to see how she was recovering from using her powers and fighting all day. Steve ducked his head around the corner and did a huge double take once his eyes registered Wanda leaning up against Vision who was stretched out next to her._

 

_Steve stood for a moment, his eyebrows raised so high it appeared they were going to lift off his forehead and fly away._

 

_"Um." Steve said closing his mouth which had been hanging open in surprise. "Right… yep." He said awkwardly and nodded once at Vision before returning the way he had come._

 

_Vision wasn't sure what to make of the whole interaction, so he cast it from his mind and focused on Wanda's warm presence next to him, her hand holding onto his own, her head resting against his stomach. Slowly… cautiously, Vision lifted his other hand and brushed Wanda's cheek with his fingertips. They were so different in so many ways. He watched her with curiosity as her breathing settled and she seemed to slip into a deeper stage of sleep._

 

_By the morning Vision was gone and Wanda had little recollection of the night. It was only months later that she was made aware of her cuddling habit when hearing the story retold from Vision's perspective._

 

 

That wasn’t the first or last time that you had been alarmed with my night terrors. The amount of time I messed up my room was infuriating, especially when I was trying to convince Steve and Natasha that I had my powers under control. I think at some point you started to expect my screams but that didn’t stop you from coming to check on me anyway. You remember sometimes you would sit and talk with me for a bit or just wait in the room until I’d fall back asleep. It was so comforting, your presence, I guess I didn’t think I’d ever be without it.

 

I know you always say that you started to feel more for me before I did for you but sometimes, I find it hard to believe. I might not have realised it then, but I was falling, slowly but surely. You always enjoyed telling me the story of your feelings and how curious you were about everything. I loved hearing it and I’d give anything to hear you tell me it one more time.

 

  

I'll probably write to you again tomorrow.

 

Love,

 

Wanda

 

|send|

 

Your message has been sent, click here to undo

 


	9. spam email #3

This message has been identified as spam click here to move to inbox

 

To: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

From: 2291991514@gmail.com

Re: it's cold without you

 

032 101 114 101 104 032 109 097 032 073 013 010 032 115 105 032 101 114 101 104 032 101 114 101 104 119 032 119 111 110 107 032 116 111 110 032 111 100 032 073 032 116 117 066 013 010 013 010 046 115 108 105 097 109 101 032 101 115 101 104 116 032 100 110 097 116 115 114 101 100 110 117 032 116 111 110 032 111 100 032 073 013 010 013 010 063 073 032 109 097 032 111 104 087 013 010 013 010 063 117 111 121 032 101 114 097 032 111 104 087 013 010 013 010

 

|reply|              |forward|


	10. progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was going to be around 5000 words so I have decided to split it into two because that is super long! 
> 
> I hope you are continuing to enjoy the story and thank you for the continued support! Wow 700 reads already!?
> 
> Stay awesome

The next morning Wanda was waiting in the brisk morning air for Steve to come and collect her. It was fairly chilly out and she wrapped her arms around herself, the familiar red leather coat clinging to her arms and shoulders before flaring out around her waist.

 

"You ready?" Clint asked as he stepped out to join her on the porch.

 

"I guess." Wanda said quietly her eyes flicking to the sky as Steve's jet came into view above the trees.

 

"Are you going to be ok today?" Clint asked coming to stand next to her.

 

"Hopefully." Wanda said and then shrugged, "but it has to be done."

 

"But if you aren't ready, it can wait." Clint said and the gestured to the incoming ship. "You know they won't take it personally if you say that you aren't ready yet. You can always join them in a few days."

 

"Clint," Wanda said sighing, "if I don't start now then I never will."

 

Clint was silent for a moment as he scowled at the jet that was getting closer by the second. Wanda wasn't sure if he was scowling at it in particular or whether it was his permanent frown that was setting in again. "You keep in contact and get rest when you need to. I'll come along in a few days but for now I have to take care of some loose ends."

 

Wanda wasn’t sure she wanted to know what 'loose ends' Clint was referring to, they had all heard what had become of him during the last five years.

 

"I'll be ok." Wanda assured, putting on a fake smile for his benefit and picking up the bag she had set next to her that had some extra clothes and her computer. Her other belongings that had been with her before the battle of Wakanda were likely with Cap or maybe even still on the jet they had flown into Wakanda in.

 

"I'll see you in a few days." Clint said bringing her in for a short hug. "Let me know if you need anything, you're always welcome here."

 

"Thank you." Wanda said earnestly and then took a deep breath, walking across the porch and down the front steps. The jet hovered for a moment before setting itself down in one of the fields surrounding Clint's property. Her hair whipped around her face as the craft slowly shut of its engines and the back door opened.

 

"Wanda." Steve said nodding and then waving to Clint who had remained on the porch.

 

"Hey." Wanda said, bag slung over her shoulder as she walked confidently up and into the ship.

 

"What's up." Sam said, somewhat lacking his usual enthusiasm from where he sat in the pilot’s chair.

 

"Not much." Wanda said shrugging her bag off and setting it on one of the other chairs in the ship.

 

"Alrighty let's get on our way now." Steve said clapping a hand softly on Wanda's shoulder as they walked over to the front of the aircraft where Bucky was sitting.

 

"How did everything go last night?" Wanda asked hesitantly, as the engines kicked up and the ship stated to rise steadily.

 

"It was pretty intense." Steve said after a pause, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But it is what it is."

 

"The energy in here sucks." Bucky said and Wanda almost wanted to laugh, it wasn't like he'd ever been the epitome of humour.

 

Steve chose not to answer Bucky's quip and instead kept his eyes focused on the word flying past outside the cockpit.

 

"So, is it just us?" Wanda asked curiously. Last she had seen the compound it had been absolutely decimated by the battle.

 

"We have some help." Steve said leaning back in the chair. "Tony… he uh," Steve began and paused to swallow, "he had a programme that was meant to set in if anything happened to the compound. Last I checked a bunch of his mobile bots were moving rubble. FRIDAY is still online and helping to coordinate it all."

 

"Even after he's gone, he's still looking out for us." Sam muttered and if the mood had been bad before it now dropped several levels worse.

 

They remained quiet for the rest of the trip and within half an hour Sam was pulling them into a land a good 50 feet from the start of the carnage at the outskirts of the compound. Sure enough, Wanda could see iron man bots in the sky ferrying rubble to and from the compound.

 

The ship touched the ground and came to a still as Sam flicked off various switches on the dashboard and eventually stood up, stretching his arms above his head.

 

"Let's get this party started." Sam said with fake enthusiasm, rolling his neck as he started suiting up.

 

Wand left her bag at her seat and followed the other three passengers out and onto the ground. It was different seeing the wreckage in the sunlight, Wanda thought to herself. It had seemed more horrifying directly after the battle, but now it was just a war ground. Other than Tony, the Avengers luckily hadn't lost anyone. The Wakandan soldiers who had laid down their lives had been taken back to their homeland for a proper burial, so the compound was free from bodies. Except one… which was buried somewhere beneath all of the rubble.

 

"Hey guys." Said a voice from the left and Wanda jumped when she saw Bruce Banner standing with a clipboard in hand. "I've split the compound into sections for each of us to tackle. Wanda I'm sorry but you're going to be doing some heavy lifting." Bruce said apologetically. He sounded exhausted.

 

"It's what I signed up for." Wanda said shrugging. "Just tell me to start."

 

And with that they began cleaning up the compound. Bruce had organised a series of clean up trucks with the letters D.O.D.C imprinted on their sides. Several teams of people from the Department of Damage Control were working on bringing in small parts of debris to the trucks. Each member of the team was assigned a different area of the compound and instructed to work with the AI bots to start clearing the rubble. In order to access what structural elements of the compound could be saved and resurrected, the grounds needed to be clear.

 

The first half of the day Wanda spent with her arms in the air, ferrying pieces of rubble from the compound and into trucks. Within the first three hours she had filled up six of the trucks and sent them on their way. It was tiring and within the first half and hour sweat had started to trickle down her forehead, but anything was better than the sitting around she'd been doing the last few days. Thankfully using her powers required a degree of mental concentration and Wanda was able to focus on the work rather than thinking about less pleasant thoughts.

 

The group stopped briefly to survey the progress they had made and have something to eat. Wanda was ravenous, she'd skipped breakfast that morning and using her powers this much always made her hungry. She ate quickly and much to Cap's dismay went straight back out onto the field despite her teammates insisting she needed a break.

 

The rest of the afternoon passed by slowly as Wanda continued, her powers flowing out of her palms. They were slowly starting to make a dent in the outer layer of damage, the structural damage was going to be a lot more difficult.

 

Wanda walked further into the compound, clearing her way with her powers and breaking large slabs of concrete up so that they were easier for the others to move. She was working like clockwork, splitting enormous pieces of the compound with the wave of a hand and sending them flying behind her. Numerous times she heard annoyed yells from Bucky or Steve as she narrowly missed knocking them out with her flying rubble.

 

At some point Wanda stopped concentrating and before she knew it, she was standing at the top of a large stack of rubble, looking down to where the compound had originally imploded. She was careful with how she was placing her weight, not wanting to risk falling down there.

 

Strangely enough, it reminded her of a time back in 2015 before the Sokovia Accords when she'd lost control of her powers during training and sent a large portion of the south quarter of the compound crashing down on her. The memories were pushed from her mind by Steve's voice yelling from below.

 

"We're wrapping up for the day!" Steve called from where he stood on the ground. Wanda glanced up in surprise at the sky around her which had faded to dark. She had been so distracted by working that she hadn’t noticed the light fading from the sky and the sun setting.

 

Without thinking Wanda used her powers to launch herself from where she was standing, aiming to land next to Steve. Instead her powers stuttered, and she ended up crashing into him, almost sending them both to the ground.

 

"Woah there." He exclaimed gripping Wanda's forearms tightly to steady her. "What was that?"

 

"Sorry." Wanda said pressing her hand to her temple, her head had started to throb. "I guess I overexerted myself a tiny bit."

 

"I told you to take a proper break." Steve said shaking his head. "Are you alright?"

 

"I'll be fine after some water and sleep." Wanda said blinking a few times.

 

"Alright, let's get you back over to the ship." Steve said leading the way through the path of rubble she had been clearing.

 

"There's still so much of it." Wanda said shaking her head at the carnage around them.

 

"It's only day one." Steve said, taking in the sight around them.

 

"What's going to happen to the infinity stones?" Wanda asked curiously, she’d wanted to broach the subject with Steve since the battle but hadn’t found the right time. It wasn’t like she would ever risk using them but there had been a couple of times where she had entertained the idea of trying to get Vision back.

 

"They're going to be returned to their original place in time." Steve said glancing sideways at her, suspicion colouring his gaze. "I'll take them back once the compound is in better shape and the world is standing on its own two feet again.”

 

Wanda nodded silently as they reached the rest of the group. It appeared that Tony's bots had shut down for the day and the last of the D.O.D.C trucks had left the site.

 

Steve succeeded in guiding Wanda onto the ship where the others were waiting. Wanda's vision was blurring slightly as she slowly sat down in her seat and reached into her bag for the bottle of water and muesli bars that Laura had given her that morning. She inhaled two bars and finished the bottle of water in record time before settling back in the chair and closing her eyes. Before Wanda knew it, she had drifted to sleep.

 


	11. the start of recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what are you thinking so far? I promise all these emails will be relevant eventually! And I like to think they sort of cast a new look at Wanda and Vision's relationship pre Infinity War :) I was inspired by that part in Civil War when Wanda asks Vision what he wants and he says "for people to see you as I do." cause that's just such an adorable scene. 
> 
> I have a few pretty big uni assignments coming up so I won't be posting until this weekend once they are all out of the way, sorry! I assure you shit gets real in the next chapter tho! 
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy! Thank you for all the wonderful comments, I love reading them <3

 

Wanda woke several hours later in an unfamiliar bed, uncertain of how she had ended up there. She was in what appeared to be a motel room from what she could see as the room was cast in yellow light by a passing car outside the window. The door to the small room was open and she could see a living room beyond it and the faint outline of a few figures lying down on couches. Wanda's mouth felt as dry as sandpaper, so she slowly extracted herself from underneath the covers that someone had placed over her. She put her feet to the floor and slowly stood up, not sure how dizzy she was going to be. After sparing a moment to steady herself she made her way to the small kitchenette of the motel room and filled a glass with water as quietly as she could before padding back to the bedroom.

 

Wanda’s bag was sitting at the foot of the bed and she retrieved her computer and removed her leather coat in favour of a comfortable sweater. Settling back onto the bed Wanda switched on the bedside lamp next to her and used her powers to shut the bedroom door quietly.

 

Sipping from the glass of water she opened up the computer and typed her passcode in. A quick look at the clock in the corner of the screen told her she had slept through until 2 am. As always, her gmail account was still open and, as always, there were no new emails. Wanda sighed and took another sip of water looking at the wall opposite her and thinking. Writing to Vision was starting to become habit, no doubt her counsellor would be happy to hear she was processing her emotions so well when she had her next appointment in two days.

 

Wanda clicked the compose button and brought up an empty email template. As always, she typed Vision's email in and paused at the subject title. She wasn't even certain of what she wanted to talk about, she just felt the need to get all her thoughts out, after all, this was all supposed to be part of recovery was it not?

 

 

To: 2291991514@gmail.com

From: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

Subject: recovery

 

Dear Vision,

 

We started cleaning up the compound today. It's a mess. It really is. Perhaps even more so than the people I'm with right now.

 

The thought that we might uncover your body at any point is always in the back of my mind and I don't know what'll happen when we do. Steve said that it was stored in the basement though so hopefully it's still ok… you're still ok.

 

It's kind of weird seeing the compound like this. It was the first stability that I'd had in years and really felt like a home before we had to leave because of the accords. I know it was a home of sorts for you too and I think it would make you sad to see what it looks like now. Picture that time I brought the roof down on my head years ago but magnify it 100 times and that’s what you'd see.

 

I thought about that a lot while I was moving all the rubble. It's probably the worst memory I have of the compound and perhaps the most embarrassing too. You know how it goes, it was maybe two months since we had defeated Ultron and I was finally getting used to the training and whole Avenger gig but then something set me off. I think if you hadn't been there things could have ended a whole lot worse.

 

The day had started out normal right? Just training in the morning. Steve had been throwing me fake grenades so that I could use my power to contain the ‘explosion’, but I wasn't doing very well, it was hard to hold my powers in a sphere at the beginning when all I was used to was shooting energy pulses.

 

It had taken me a while to get back on my feet. Most days I felt like staying in bed and forgetting the rest of the world. It was so hard without Pietro. But I made myself get up every morning and instead threw myself into honing my powers so that next time I'd be able to protect the one I loved… I wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

 

And look where we are. Look what happened to you. I keep failing no matter what I try.

 

 

_Wanda stopped typing and squeezed her eyes shut as her emotions threatened to over flow. She pushed them down and instead focused on recounting the memory from all those years before._

  

_"Again." Steve said sharply from the other side of the training room._

 

_Wanda huffed in annoyance and exhaustion. They'd been at this all morning. A tub of inactive grenades and other explosives was sitting next to Steve and one by one he had been picking them up and throwing them to Wanda. Each time she was tasked with pulling the grenade to a stop and building a ball of energy around it, in the hopes that if it came to real life, her power would be able to contain the explosion._

 

_It was a lot harder than it seemed and Wanda often only managed to hold the position for a few seconds before the grenade would clatter to the ground. It unnerved her to see them fall though Steve had assured her they weren't going to explode._

 

_"Boom." He would say every time one hit the ground followed by, "again", throwing another explosive towards her._

 

_Wanda's patience was growing thin when they reached the fourteenth explosive. Wanda grabbed it out of the air before it reached her and using her hands attempted to build a ball of energy up around it._

 

_"That's it!" Steve said triumphantly once Wanda had the sphere established and gritted her teeth to keep the power concentrated. That was when she noticed the subtle lettering on the side of the explosive._

 

_STARK_

 

_Her breathing faltered for a moment and her vision went a little blurry. Memories flooded through Wanda's mind and all of a sudden, she was ten years old again, huddled next to her twin brother as they kept their eyes trained on the Stark Industries explosive mere meters from them, waiting… waiting for it to explode and kill them like it had killed their parents. The dust that still hung in the air from past explosions had made Wanda's mouth dry and her eyes sting. Back in the present Wanda swallowed thickly, her breathing coming forward raggedly as her heart beat wildly and irregularly._

 

_She seemed to slip in and out of reality as her mind trembled at the force of the memory and the frightened look on Pietro's face as they clung to each other, tear streaked faces, waiting hours for someone to come save them._

 

_Wanda's arms were trembling, and Steve seemed to have realised something was wrong._

 

_"Wanda." He said slowly putting his hands up. "You can let it go now."_

 

_"I can't…" Wanda whispered shakily, the energy flowing from her palms was out of control. Wanda couldn't tear her eyes away from the logo on the side of the explosive. "I can't stop it."_

 

_"Nat, we have a situation down here." Steve said to the panel receiver near the glass door._

 

_Wanda's hands had started to shake, and her vision was blurred with tears as her eyes stung just like they had all those years ago._

 

_"I couldn't stop it." She whispered, her emotion only fuelling the growing ball of energy before her. She needed to let go of the power or it was going to keep growing. She had run out of options. With a tremendous cry she sent the ball of energy up through the ceiling._

 

_"Wanda!" Steve yelled._

 

_As soon as the energy ball had surged through the ceiling, the roof began to collapse inwards. Wanda screamed and put her hands protectively above her head, but her powers had been exhausted and her attention frayed and so they did nothing to stop the rubble collapsing on top of her._

 

_Wanda thought she might have blacked out for a second or two because they next thing she knew the air was dusty and she was pinned to the ground by two heavy slabs of concrete. Her shoulder screamed in pain from the large piece of rubble pressing her left arm and shoulder into the ground. Her right leg was also pinned down painfully._

 

_"Help." She coughed out, the dust around her heavy._

 

_"Wanda?" Vision's voice suddenly sounded from what seemed like miles away. Wanda heard her name frantically echoed by other members of the team._

 

_"Be careful, Vision, it's unstable down there." Steve called but Wanda couldn't tell where he was._

 

_"Hello." She said shakily into the air which was pale with dust and debris, tears tracing down her dirty cheeks._

 

_"Wanda." Vision said and she turned to the left to see him peering through several rocks. "Are you ok?"_

 

_"I don't know." Wanda said her lip trembling from the pain it took to turn her head so far. "I'm trapped."_

 

_"Stay calm." Vision said as though it were the simplest thing ever. Wanda had the slight inclination he had pulled up information about how to keep someone clam during crisis. "We're going to get you out."_

 

_"We need to get her out now before that rubble crushes her." Wanda heard Natasha’s distressed voice say from somewhere above her._

 

_"Get some cables Sam, we'll start clearing the debris." Steve ordered._

 

_"Wanda, you can get yourself free." Vision told her from where he was crouched, eyes darting up to the rubble above her and she could almost see him making calculations in his head._

 

_"I can't." Wanda said shakily, looking down at the slab of concrete pressed against her knee, it was holding up several other bits of larger rubble above her, any movement and she would surely be crushed._

 

_"You can." Vision said firmly. "I have seen what you can do. You took down hundreds of Ultron's bots with your powers, I'm sure you can lift a few pieces of rock."_

 

_"This is more than a few pieces of rock." Wanda said gritting her teeth in pain as she tried to shift her shoulder._

 

_"You can do it."_

 

_"I'm scared." Wanda admitted reluctantly._

 

_"I know."_

 

_"I feel like my heart is dying, I'm so afraid." Wanda said swallowing as more tears traced down her face._

 

_"What can I do to help." Vision asked._

 

_"Give me your hand." Wanda said her lip trembling. Vision obliged, sliding his hand through the space in the rubble. "Think of good things if you can." Wanda asked of him and closed her eyes as she wrapped her dusty hand around his synthetic one._

 

_She pushed her powers out, trying to explore his mind. It was always difficult with Vision and she often got overwhelmed by his brain quickly. But Wanda hoped in this circumstance it would help to silence the overwhelming fear that was coursing through her body._

 

_"I have faith in you." Vision said squeezing her hand and Wanda felt his sincerity though she doubted that he even understood the complexity of faith. Wanda pushed her mind out and felt the edges of his and as though there was a cord running from his mind to hers, she felt the thoughts he was trying to project above all others._

 

_Admiration. That was the closest thing that came to describing what Vision was trying to convey. He was in awe of her powers, he always had been, from the moment he had seen her after being brought into this life until now, in this moment. And she saw herself for the first time through Vision's eyes. She was powerful beyond belief. Her powers were dangerous, but they were wonderful. Wanda felt Vision’s wonder associated with every time she had used her powers, his wonder at her as a person, more than just the powers she had been granted. Wanda squeezed Vision's hand tighter and stretched her head back as she called her powers to her palms and directed them to the rubble around her. She tried to hold what was above her in place before directing part of her energy to the rubble pinning her down and with a tremendous effort, her teeth gritted as she tried to contain her scream, she envisioned it all lifting._

 

_As soon as the rubble complied with her wishes Wanda was torn out of the danger zone by Vision who quickly pulled her towards him, up through the gap in the rubble. As soon as Wanda was in his arms she let go of her powers and the rest of the rubble crashed down right on top of the spot she had been moments before._

 

 

Before then I had no one ever think those things about me, Vis. I'd never been described as particularly brave or powerful as a child and even after I got the powers, I didn't really feel like that aspect was a part of me, that was something I got from the stone. But you showed me how you saw me. The admiration, the respect, the curiosity. I don't think you entirely understood all of those things to be emotions back then because you were so new to everything. But regardless, they were real to me and in that moment, I needed you more than anything else. 

 

That was the first push for me. I knew I needed to start properly recovering and not just getting by one day at a time. I had to learn that those powers were as much a part of me as my past was.  You were the push that I needed to reconcile with my past.

 

You won’t know it but you're going to be the first step towards recovery for me now. Once we find your body… it's going to be time for me to start moving on. I don’t know what I'm going to do Vis, I really don't. I feel so lost. Just like I did back then beneath all the rocks and dust with only your voice and your emotions to guide me. I'm still trapped by that rubble but this time I'm going to have to dig myself out because you aren't here…

 

I love you, no matter what. I wish I'd told you that more often.

 

Wanda

 

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To: wmaximoff7@gmail.com

From: 2291991514@gmail.com

Re: recovery 

 

 

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	13. impossible hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally happening!! Sorry I've kept y'all guessing for so long! 
> 
> A large portion of this was originally intended for Chapter 7 but in the end I decided to drag it out more because I wanted to explore Wanda's grief first. Sorry if I put everyone through pain hah. Anyway, here it is!! I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments - particularly those that talk about how I am characterising and developing the story, it makes my heart warm to see that so many of the readers are picking up on the elements I include to try and make it fit the characters :) it really means a lot to see people thinking hard about what I am writing <3 thank you for your support.
> 
> I know a lot of people have been asking about the spam emails but my lips are sealed - trust me they'll come up later/soon :)

Wanda's arms seemed to go numb by hour four. Steve, Bucky, Sam, Bruce and Wanda had been working all day without break. It seemed her body was past the point of complaining as she ferried rubble to and from the compound and the trucks waiting to cart it off. Despite it all, she was feeling better today, if better was even the right word to use. But she was getting there.

 

The sky was overcast so at least Wanda didn't have to worry about the heat of the sun pressing down on her as she continued to work. The rest of the team eventually relented and stopped for lunch, but she didn't. At some point Steve brought over two sandwiches and a canister of water. Wanda ate with one hand and used her powers with the other to move smaller pieces of rubble.

 

Wanda's powers felt charged. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but something felt different today, like there was something approaching. All she wanted to do was to get to the bottom of this damn compound and get Vision out. She didn't want to think about what would happen after that, so Wanda focused on what was present in front of her. Lots and lots of debris.

 

They had barely made a scrape in all the destruction even with the five of them working all day plus Tony's bots that flew around doing as much as they could. There was just too much of it.

 

Eventually Wanda grew sick of it and decided to take a break for a moment. She went over to a flat slab of concrete and took a seat, drinking deeply from the canister of water Steve had brought. She knew it was foolish to think that they would be able to take care of this all in a matter of days but a part of her had hoped that this would end up being a simple task. She hadn't anticipated the level of damage. Thanos had literally destroyed _everything._ Nothing had been left standing… so many memories she'd shared here with the other Avengers… now it was all gone. Wanda felt tears pricking her eyes again and wanted to scream. She was so _sick_ of crying!

 

Wanda was so distracted by her despair that she didn't see the small black drone that dropped to the ground in front of her until it made several loud beeping noises. She jumped to her feet, powers at the ready.

 

"Steve?" Wanda called out across the wasteland that had been the Avengers Compound. Captain America was standing about fifty feet away but ran towards her when he saw her hands raised on the defensive.

 

"What's wrong?" Sam said reaching Wanda's side first and looking down at the small black drone.

 

"What is it?" Wanda asked curiously, reigning her powers in when it seemed that the object posed no immediate threat. It had gone silent after its initial noises.

 

"Don't touch it." Steve said when he reached them, Bruce wasn't far behind with Bucky. "It's Wakandan."

 

"Wakanda?" Sam said tilting his head, "We only saw T'Challa two days ago, what could they possible want already?"

 

"I think I might know what-" Bruce began but he was cut off by the hologram that suddenly appeared before them.

 

The black panther logo flickered once or twice before it was replaced with a life-size rendition of Shuri.

 

"Hello Captain." She said nodding in Steve's direction and Wanda wondered how the Princess was even able to see who was in front of her. She decided not to think too much of the technology behind it all.

 

"Shuri…" Steve said nodding in greeting. "I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon."

 

"Yes… well things have been progressing surprisingly well, for the most part.” Shuri said and the hologram shifted as she appeared to walk around, picking up a tablet on her way.

 

"Already?” Bruce asked in surprise and Wanda glanced at him in confusion. She was very lost.

 

"What's going on?" Sam asked, apparently just as confused.

 

"I gather you are working on the Avengers compound at the moment?" Shuri said, her eyes trained on the tablet before her.

 

"Yes." Wanda replied.

 

"I take it that Clint has told you that the body of your boyfriend is buried somewhere beneath all that rubble?" Shuri said bluntly.

 

"Yes." Wanda said curtly, wondering where on earth this was going.

 

"We preserved his body after the Snap." Bruce elaborated and then said something that turned Wanda's blood to ice. "Tony and I thought there _might_ be a way to restore him."

 

Wanda tried to keep her mouth from dropping open and her hopes from jumping up. Based on experience, hope was something that was never rewarded when it came to Wanda Maximoff.

 

"We thought that, even if Thanos and the stones were gone and we didn't have a way to bring _everyone_ back, we owed it to Vision to at least try with him. But things didn't quite work out." Bruce explained, wringing his large hands nervously. "We got close… real close but without Vision's memories and the updated versions of his mainframe that Shuri managed to collect, we worried that what we were creating wouldn't really be Vision."

 

"Why am I only hearing about this now." Wanda said finally managing to put words together. Her mind was reeling. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

 

"We didn't want to get your hopes up! We failed anyway!" Bruce explained hastily, glancing at Wanda's hands as though he was expecting to be blasted by power. Wanda wasn't so sure that wasn't going to happen.

 

"You could have very well created another version of Ultron if you had continued," Shuri piped up before Wanda had the chance to retaliate. "Many of Wakanda's best technicians and scientists were lost during the Snap so no one had enough knowledge of what I had been doing before the Snap to be able to help Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark."

 

"I thought you didn't manage to separate Vision from the stone?" Wanda said hating how desperate her voice was starting to sound as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening, around what they were trying to say.

 

"I didn't." Shuri said and her face fell, she appeared to set the tablet she had been using down somewhere out of the holograms reach. "And for that I am so sorry, if we'd just had a little more time…"

 

Wanda tried her very best to ignore the pain coursing through her mind and body. "Is there a point to all this? Or are you just reminding me that he's gone, and that you failed?"

 

"Wanda." Steve said, his tone making her feel like she was a school kid being told off. It was infuriating.

 

"I'm sorry." She snapped back. "But you don't understand, I know we all lost Nat and Tony but in the end their sacrifice helped you _save_ everyone. Vision's didn't, he died thinking that we had lost. I killed him and then had to watch him die _again._ Then I had to come back to this godforsaken world and come to terms with the fact that I have to live without him! So, if you are here to tell me that you tried but it didn’t work then please don't because I _have had enough!"_ Wanda's accent grew stronger as she went on, venting all her feelings out.

 

"Are you finished?" Shuri said scowling. "If you'd let me continue, I can explain why you might not have to live without him."

 

"Ok… sorry, that was uncalled for." Wanda said after taking a deep breath and trying to calm her crackling powers by shoving her hands into the pockets of her pants. "But please don't give me false hope or a semi-solution that doesn’t actually bring him back.

 

"This isn't false hope, this is a solution." Shuri said and she extended a hand letting a second hologram burst to life. "Before the Snap I was so close to finishing the download of everything I needed from Vision which would allow me to extract the stone. But before I could, Thanos' children broke into the lab." She waved a hand and brought up a translucent image of the mind stone with six pulsing lines leading out of it. "Before Vision went down to the battle field, I managed to save copies of the 6 core elements of his being."

 

She enlarged the hologram slightly. "Or at least I thought that I had managed to successfully save them all." Shuri focused in on one of the pathways, "this one, the part of Vision's artificial makeup that stored his memories didn't complete the process, I didn't even realise until we all came back a few days ago and I actually looked at the work I'd left behind."

 

"Are you saying you really think you can recreate him? This isn’t just a theory anymore?" Steve asked, staring thoughtfully at the hologram.

 

"I think so." Shuri said and closed the hologram in her palm. "The only difference would be that he might not retain some of the memories he had, his makeup would remain the same, he would still be the same being just without the recollection of how he gained certain aspects of his person."

 

Wanda's knees were feeling weak and she grasped Sam's arm for support.

 

"Are you sure?" Wanda asked, disbelief colouring her voice. Even without the memories there was still the chance she would get him back. They could always make new memories.

 

"I have begun preliminary tests on overlaying each of the six elements to make sure they align correctly, and we don't create a different person to the Vision you knew." Shuri explained. "We wanted to be sure that this was possible before giving you 'false hope' as you called it."

 

"Thank you." Wanda whispered and if Shuri hadn’t been a hologram she would have hugged her, princess or not. "Thank you, thank you."

 

"We haven't done it yet." Shuri said smiling a little. "But I have confidence that we'll be able to."

 

"What's the first step? Where do I need to be, how can I help?" Wanda asked, so many thoughts were buzzing around her head, she didn’t know where to turn.

 

"Let me handle the science of it all." Shuri said. "Just be there when we wake him up."

 

"The other thing we need is a body." Bruce explained. "I suggested we get in Dr. Helen Cho who made Vision's body in the first place but-"

 

"I said no. Restoring his mind is going to be a complex process and transferring that into a physical host is going to be… delicate to say the least. Many AI systems have a backdoor protocol where they try and self-destruct or go underground if they are threatened," Shuri said, cutting Bruce off. "We know that Vision's mind developed significantly after being created, there's the possibility that trying to transfer him to an unfamiliar host could make his systems react to it as a hostile situation. If his mind doesn’t recognise the genetic and mechanical makeup as correlating to his own, we could end up losing him completely."

 

"So, we need his original body." Wanda whispered and thought of Clint, he had known, that was why he had told her about Vision's body. Wanda then glanced at Steve. "You knew too? That's why you got Clint to tell me about his body?"

 

"We needed to be certain that this was even a possibility before getting your hopes up. I didn't want to hurt you more." Steve explained.

 

Wanda swallowed her annoyance at the rest of the team treating her like a child and focused on what was more important. "So, I find his body. Then what?"

 

"Then we can get Dr Cho in to try and work at restoring and preparing him for the ‘reincarnation’" Bruce said making air quotations with his large fingers. "But we're a way off from getting down to the basement."

 

"I'll make it happen." Wanda said determinedly, suddenly she wasn't tired anymore and her powers were rearing to go. "Wait… what if he was crushed in the collapse?" She asked.

 

"He can't have been, that case we were keeping him in was made of Vibranium." Steve assured her.

 

"Once you retrieve his body, bring it to Wakanda and we can go about the process of restoring him." Shuri said. "The other question is how we give power to his body given that the infinity stone isn't around anymore."

 

"I'll talk to Thor about that, after all it was his energy that brought Vision into being as well." Steve assured.

 

"I'm currently looking into the possibility of creating an artificial stone, but so far my prototypes have been… unsuccessful." Shuri said as though it pained her to admit the failure. "Without a significant power source, he might end up being hooked up to a powerful battery for a while. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, we need his body which is what your job is, once you find it get in contact and we will send a ship for it."

 

"Can you do this Wanda?" Steve asked, "if it's too overwhelming right now we can continue to work while you take a break."

 

"No." Wanda said looked down at her palms, feeling the power surging to her palms. "I'm ready to go."

 

"Shuri, thank you, we'll be in contact." Steve said to the hologram.

 

"Thank you." Wanda said again, the phrase didn't even begin to cover what she was feeling.

 

"Don't thank me yet." Shuri said and before another word could be said the hologram disappeared. The drone rose into the air again and zoomed off up into the clouds and away.

 

"Well that was very confusing… am I the only one confused?” Sam said looking at the rest of the group.

 

"Stand aside." Wanda said stepping forward towards the rubble she had been making her way through and calling her powers forth.

 

"Shit Maximoff… your eyes." Sam said and stood quickly to the side as she had asked.

 

Wanda's grief was still there but while it had been ice, making her numb to everything, it was now fire. It surged through her veins and she let herself _feel_ for the first time, not just the surface of it all but really _feel._ The pain, the despair, all of her pent-up emotions from the last three years, maybe even longer than that _._ Wanda's eyes glowed dangerously, and she raised her hands before her as red tendrils shot from her palms, snaking through the rubble and with an effortless flick of a hand the ground trembled. At least 20 square meters of the carnage before them shuddered as it was lifted from the ground Wanda didn’t make a sound as she lifted it all, her powers seemed bottomless in that moment. She had meaning, she had a plan, she had hope… and she would not let it be weakness.


End file.
